260 . THE BRITISH ISLES. 



its pro'^pcritv. lint it is only since the beginning of the present century that 

 this Yorkshire town has won the first pUice in the world for its cutlery and 

 steel. Its population is seven times greater now than what it was in 1801, 

 and continues to increase at the same rate. Like London, Manchester, and 

 lîirmingham, it swallows up the villages in its neighbourhood, and already its 

 houses cover an area of 8 square miles. The iron won in tliis district, which 

 is known as Ilallarashire, nolonger suffices for the wants of the factories, and addi- 

 tional supplies have to be procured from abroad. Most of the famous iron of 

 Sweden is bought up on account of Sheffield houses. More ivory is used in 

 Sheffield than in any other part of the world. It has been computed that the 

 ivory handles of the knives annually manufactured at Sheffield have a weight 

 of 200 tons, which would represent the spoils of at least 15,000 elephants. 

 Cutlery, files, saws, and tools of every description, Britannia and electro-plated 

 ware, are the staple manufactures of Sheffield ; and there are also important iron 

 and steel works. The Avater supply of the town is obtained from reservoirs 

 formed in the valleys to the west. In 1864 one of these dams burst its 

 embankment, causing a great flood, in which 250 persons were drowned and 

 much property destroyed. Chantrey, the sculptor, was born at Norton, a village 

 near Sheffield. 



The towns and villages around Sheffield participate in its industry. Rother- 

 ham, the most important amongst them, has iron and steel works as well as 

 collieries. Mexhoroiigh, near the mouth of the Dearne, in addition to iron works, 

 has important glass houses. Soon after passing this town the Don emerges from 

 the dreary moorlands, blackened hy the smoke of factories, and enters upon the 

 smiling plain of York.* 



* For smtiller towns and village^ not meiitioueJ above refer to the Statistical Appendix. 



